Event Marketing Strategies for Small Business

An Interview with Amy Vercruysse, Principal of Comboplatter.net

Are you considering event marketing strategies as part of your local small business marketing mix?

Event marketing is simply using an event to market your business. But events can be expensive, so this kind of marketing isn't for everyone. To tell us more about how to do this successfully, I contacted an expert.

I'm here today with Amy Vercruysse, the woman behind the website comboplatter.net. Amy is a fellow small business owner and has over 10 years of experience in event marketing. She is an expert in marketing with music, marketing with events and festivals, and event and festival management.

Amy was nice enough to share some information with us about event marketing.

Amy, thanks for joining me today. Please tell us how you got started in event marketing.

I started as a Marketing Assistant and was then promoted to Marketing Director for an arts and entertainment district in Dallas called Deep Ellum, which was full of music venues, tattoo parlors, art galleries, boutiques and restaurants. I wore many hats in that role. One of the most important was the creation of events and promotions to draw media attention and traffic to the area. That's where my appetite for events was really whetted.

It was a great place to cut my teeth in the field. I was fortunate to work with some talented event producers who showed me the ropes, and I learned a lot. I worked with all the Deep Ellum businesses, with external promoters and with sponsors, so it was a very well-rounded experience. I got to see the event marketing strategies that businesses used to market their products and services to their target demographics.

That was about 12 years ago. From there, I did bar and club promotions for a Chicago-based agency, then went to the sponsor side doing event marketing for a company based in Santa Fe. In that job I traveled to festivals all over the country as a sponsor and had to execute pre-event, onsite, and post-event promotions. Then I got back into the event production side with a move to Seattle.

Why did you decide to start your own business?

When I struck out on my own I was living in Seattle. I'd been part of the sponsorship team for Bumbershoot and the WaMu Family 4th - two of the most recognized festivals in the Pacific Northwest. I had been thinking for quite some time that I wanted to be my own boss... I guess I'm just cut from that cloth. I prefer to set my schedule, take the assignments I want, work the way I want, etc. It hasn't always been an easy road, but I'm glad I did it. I've since relocated to Austin, Texas.

Tell us a little about marketing with events and festivals. What kinds of businesses benefit the most from that?

I think just about any business can benefit. You have to use the right event marketing strategies, and also match the event to your target demographic. If most of your customers are affluent Baby-Boomers, for example, a golf tournament could be a perfect match but a huge music fest such as Coachella would probably be a total waste.

From there, choose the best event marketing strategies to make sure you're spending your money smartly. Banner and logo placement are fine as far as they go, but the highest impact is made by establishing that direct connection to the consumer - something only events can offer, by the way. The best event marketing strategies are the ones that take advantage of this direct connection.

And that's probably the number one reason I'm such an advocate for event marketing. I'm not saying it should supplant other forms of marketing and advertising. I'm saying it should be a part of the overall mix. In fact, events provide a great platform for leveraging those other elements of the marketing mix.

Here's an event marketing strategy that works for retail or other storefront businesses. If a storefront business wants to sponsor a local festival, they might see about becoming a ticket outlet, which will drive traffic to their location. They can then advertise this fact. Now you've got a pre-event promotion that extends the value of the sponsorship, because you're advertising your involvement ahead of time. In doing so you're establishing yourself as a community supporter and creating an association in the minds of the public between your business and the event.

Again, this underscores why it's so important to make sure your business and the event are the right match. It's also important for the event to work with your business to create these promotional tools so you can get the most bang for your buck.

Can you share some event marketing strategies for finding new customers or for bonding with existing customers?

As I said, the great thing about events is that they provide businesses with the opportunity to speak directly to their current and potential customers face to face. This happens in an environment where the customer is relaxed and having fun, making them more open to you.

One event marketing strategy is sampling. Attendees at events tend to respond best when businesses offer something free or cheap, so onsite sampling is very big and very effective. Then you have the chance to answer questions, describe details, deliver your message, debunk myths, and so on.

Another event marketing strategy is to give free tickets to your customers and stakeholders, which could include employees and vendors - another great reason to sponsor events. Many fests offer a VIP experience to their sponsors so that's a perk that can also be shared.

It's also important to fit into the "vibe" of the event. So don't be too "corporate" at a music festival. Instead maybe create a lounge, have a DJ or an iPod playing, dress casually, and offer an overall experience on top of freebies and swag. This also opens the door for greater data collection, especially if it's not mandatory. Folks tend to be more open with their information if they feel like the decision is up to them. At a more conservative event such as a golf tournament, it's ok to be more "corporate".

You help small business owners determine which events to use for marketing their businesses, right? Do you have some general guidelines?

I cannot stress enough the importance of finding the right match. This means not only a good match to your budget, but making sure you reach the right people. One of my services is soliciting sponsorship on behalf of festivals and events, and I would never send a sponsor proposal to a potential sponsor for a folk festival if I know they are looking for metal and electronic music fests. That just wastes everyone's time.

By the same token, for a business I would first conduct some informational interviews to get the best sense of the business and who they ought to be targeting - because some business owners don't know who their market is, so we start there. Then I go about formulating a plan and selecting the best event marketing strategies according to their needs and business objectives. It often requires a learning curve both on my part and on the part of the business owner, so it's important to get started early in order to do the most thorough job and get them the best visibility.

What are some low risk, low cost event marketing strategies for a small business owner? How do you measure the return on marketing investment?

Ah, the old ROI (Return On Investment) question. This is a gray area, unfortunately, because much of what is done at events cannot be measured, such as the feelings customers have about businesses who conduct event marketing. And yet, sponsorship is a proven method when done well. Some forms of measurement can include data collection, and media and logo impressions. Most events have become much savvier about ROI due to the demand from their sponsors for this information, so they do measure impressions (based on attendance) and they take surveys to gauge attendees' attitudes. If the event does not do this, beware.

As for low risk, low cost event marketing strategies, look at local community events, little league teams, adult teams for amateur sports such as bowling, kickball or softball leagues. For businesses that want to use music events, they can sponsor local bands or local concerts, and/or sell CDs and concert tickets at their storefront in exchange for some cross-promotion. First-time, new events can generally be negotiated to a good price, but the risk is higher since it's an unproven entity.

Let's talk about the event management side of your business. Would you call your business a specialized event planning business?

I tend to specialize in music festivals, but I've also done everything from corporate parties to fundraisers to community street fairs, pub crawls, and micro-brew festivals. I've handled everything from media and sponsorship to artist relations, vendor management, and overall production from the beginning. I love it all! I just love being part of making something happen. It's a weird phenomenon because producing events can be extremely taxing mentally and physically, but when it's all over with it's very satisfying and rewarding.

What kinds of events do you usually plan? For example, BBQ festivals, Irish festivals, concerts, etc.

My preference is music festivals but I love all kinds of festivals.

At what stage of the planning process do you usually get involved with event planning? For example, do the event organizers come to you before they have chosen the location? Or maybe a little later, when they realize how little they know about event planning?

I definitely want to be involved as early as possible. This enables the organizers and me to remain on the same page from the get-go and allows me to manage expectations. It also helps me to get the clearest picture possible of everything involved in the event. There seems to be a lot mystery around many necessary event elements that a lot of organizers don't fully appreciate, so it's most helpful to be involved early in order to establish realistic goals and measurements, and just to make sure there's enough time to do the job properly.

Do you help promote the events and festivals? If so, what are some of the ways you do that?

Well, the reason my business is called Combo Platter is because of my love of music, festivals and marketing, and I often combine at least two if not all of those things into most projects. So yes, I definitely handle marketing and advertising in all types of media. At a minimum that would include social media (Facebook, Twitter, You Tube) and some sort of print and radio advertising. I've also had TV spots produced and placed.

Amy, thanks again for taking the time to share some event marketing strategies with us.

It was my pleasure. Thanks for having me.

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Amy Vercruysse travels all over the United States organizing and promoting events and festivals. If you need help with event promotion, event planning, or selecting the best event marketing strategies, you can contact Amy at comboplatter.net.

Have A Question About Using Event Marketing for Your Business?

Amy Vercruysse is teaming up with Functional Marketing to write a new book that shows small businesses and entrepreneurs - like you - how to tap into events, festivals and other community activities to market your business.

Most event marketing books talk about how to create and organize an event, and how to get sponsors. We're taking the opposite approach.

What if your business is approached about sponsoring an event? How will you know if it's a good idea? How can you get the best results from your sponsoring dollars? What other ways can you get involved besides sponsoring?

If you have a question you'd like to ask, please do. We'll answer it here, and maybe include it in the book, too.

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